Fun in Redmond: Delicious Food, Great Friends, and Microsoft at Night

The Greater Seattle area is kind of daunting to explore because things can be far depending on your starting point and the near-constant traffic. We have friends who live in the far east side, and it takes us around 45 minutes to meet them at their home. It's hard to meet in downtown Seattle because we would have to figure out parking, and our friends would still have a long trek back to their home. We found out this weekend that Redmond might be a good mid-way meetup place for us!

We met up for a casual dinner at Pomegranate Bistro and tried to think of fun late night things to do in Redmond since our respective homes were too far. Since none of us were into the bar or club scenes, and coffee shops were closed, we finally decided on touring our friends' office at the Microsoft headquarters. I think after the word got out about the cool office features at the Google offices, tech company office tours are now a valid "fun" activity! Having worked at Epic, I was curious how Microsoft would compare.

Pomegranate Bistro - Crispy Calamari and Artichokes with Citrus Aioli and

Northwest Cheese Platter

Pomegranate Bistro - Spinach Salad with Grapefruit, Pomegranate, and Hazelnuts

Pomegranate Bistro - Flank Steak Firebread with Horseradish Cream

First off, the campus is more like a town. Sure, it's not whimsical like Epic, but it's functional. There are temporary housing options on campus, campus shuttles that you can schedule for pick-up at the entrances of buildings, on campus clinic and vision care, and a plethora of restaurants (including 2 stories of food vendors in the cafeteria and a buffet restaurant). Our favorite "decorative" piece were the hydroponic garden pods throughout the buildings, which was apparently a side project started in the office "Garage" by an employee that was then implemented throughout HQ. The Garage is basically lab spaces throughout the campus where employees can pursue their own projects using awesome tools like 3D printers and laser cutters. That's really the coolest part of the campus!

Microsoft HQ at Night

Hydroponics Pod

Microstang Featured on Discovery’s Velocity Network during the Inside West Coast Customs show

Microstang

Mike also got really excited about taking pictures with the Halo characters in the Xbox One building.

Halo

We found other employees hanging out in conference rooms playing computer games, chatting with friends, and reading in the library so we figure that this would be a great spot to meet up and play board games next time we want to catch up!

Thanks, M, B, and Y for a fantastic evening!

The Best Going Away Present: Amazing Friendships and Delicious Kapoon Noodles Recipe and Kit!

I cherish the friendship and love our friends in Madison have shown us as we enjoyed our last meals before our move. You know who you are, and please know that we can't wait for our next reunion in Seattle or Madison!

One of our last memories of Madison is when Pakou and Shri came over to give us a much needed boost during our last few hours before the long haul. Not only did they make a huge difference in helping us pack and clean without us asking, but Pakou also gifted us a basket of ingredients for the Kapoon Noodles that we never got to make together. We had grand plans of cooking together ever since we became neighbors, but we simply ran out of time. This was an incredibly thoughtful gift. I hope I did justice to this dish!

I gave the dish a Pacific Northwest twist by using cod instead of catfish and adding some king crab meat that happened to be on sale. Even with the seemingly elevated seafood ingredients, I still preferred the traditional bone-in catfish version that Pakou shared with us back in Madison, though Mike struggled with the bones. The bones from the catfish created a slightly more gelatinous consistency in the broth that made the flavors adhere to the noodles better.

Pacific Northwest Kapoon Noodles adapted from Pakou

Ingredients:

4 cod fillets, cut into 2 inch pieces

King crab meat, shell removed and reserved

1/2 can red curry paste

1/2 can - 1 can coconut milk

Bamboo shoots, sliced into 3 inch strands

Kaffir lime leaves/Galangal (optional)

Fish sauce, to taste

Sugar, to taste

Rice vermicelli noodles, cooked and drained

Garnishes

Green onions

Cilantro

Cabbage, shredded

First removed the king crab meat from the shell and boiled the shells in 4 cups of water. Chill the crab meat in the fridge until ready to use for garnish. Remove the shells after 20 minutes and boiled the cod pieces in the broth for 15 minutes. Take out the fish and reserve it in a bowl.

King Crab Meat

Broth made from crab shells and then fish

Cook half a can of red curry in 2 Tbs of oil in a wok until fragrant. If using kaffir leaves or galangal, you can cook them in the curry at this point. Add half a can of coconut milk and stir the mixture thoroughly. Once the mixture is heated through, add the fish to the curry. Add a couple ladles of fish broth into the curry until you've reached the desired amount of soup for the noodles. Add more coconut milk if you would like a thicker consistency. Once the curry soup comes to a simmer, add the bamboo and season with fish sauce and a little pinch of sugar.

Cooking the curry and stirring in coconut milk

Fish, broth, and bamboo added

Portion out rice noodles in what I like to call "pho bowls," and ladle the soup and seafood into each.

Top off each bowl with the shredded cabbage, cilantro, crab meat, and green onions.

Pakou, thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us. This dish brought us a lot of comfort this winter! I can't wait to share some Seattle culinary adventures with you when you visit us!

Surprises of a Surprisingly Balmy Winter Weekend

We had planned to spend Sunday exploring the Columbia City neighborhood and catching the new Star Wars movie at the vintage movie theater in the area, Ark Lodge Cinema. Because it was such a nice day, Mike turned our plans upside down and suggested a walk in a park instead.

We first had lunch in the Georgetown area, which is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Seattle. The area does not seem fun and safe from the highway, but there are surprising pockets of really interesting shops and restaurants! Because we've been eating a lot of Asian foods at home and around our neighborhood lately, we were hankering for simple but well-crafted sandwiches. We headed to Hitchcock Deli the moment I found out that they cure their own meats and ferment their own sauerkraut.

Hitchcock Deli - Charcuterie Case

Being a huge Reuben fan, Mike was not going to pass up trying their hot pastrami sandwich with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing. It was the lightest Reuben sandwich we've ever had. The meat was tender and the kraut was crunchy and mild. I had the Cuban B, which is composed of the house made porchetta and smoked ham, Swiss cheese, and pickles. It was heavier than the Reuben but very satisfying. The meats really make all the difference. Rather than wrestling with stacks of mass processed meats, you savor sufficient rich morsels that intermingle with other fresh ingredients. The meats are definitely fatty, but the sandwiches are so well-balanced with the other components of the sandwiches that we finished our lunch without feeling like taking a nap.

Cuban B with Potato Salad and Pastrami Sandwich

Pastrami Sandwich

Cuban B

While finishing up on our lunch we noticed an arcade across the street called Flip Flip Ding Ding. Of course we had to check it out!

Flip Flip Ding Ding Arcade

It's a fairly compact two-story pinball joint that serves beer. It's pretty divey, but definitely a fun place to play a few games if you're in the neighborhood.

Next, we headed to Seward Park across I-5 from Georgetown. Seward Park is a peninsula that juts into Lake Washington and faces Mercer Island. I had no idea that the park has the best views of Mount Rainier that we've seen so far in the city! This would be a great place for picnics in the Spring or Summer.

View of Mount Rainer from Lake Washington at Seward Park

View of Mount Rainer from Lake Washington at Seward Park

As we walked by the forest, we heard a constant hollow thumping. Naturally, we followed the sound and found that it was a woodpecker!

Searching for the Woodpecker

Woodpecker at Seward Park

I'm excited to see what other birds we'll spot at the park come spring time!

Behold Seattle on a Kittyful Day!

Before moving to Seattle, Mike and I were mentally prepared for constant rain and made a pact to never complain about it. That still stands, but we certainly appreciate the sun a lot more when it appears! However, we noticed that our tolerance for the cold has dropped significantly since leaving Wisconsin so we spent the sunny weekend sheltered for the most part then soaked in the sun for a little bit around the Space Needle.

I didn't intend the day to be cat-themed, but in our world, this really isn't a surprise.

We kicked off the weekend playing Kittens in a Blender at Café Mox while munching on a simple but satisfying lunch. By the way, we highly recommend Kittens in a Blender and not just because we're cat lovers! It's really easy to learn and is fairly quick to set up and play.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich at Café Mox

As the place got crowded because of a game tournament, we headed to the EMP Museum for the Hello Kitty exhibit! The EMP Museum features interactive pop culture exhibits that basically is like a Children's Museum for kids and adults. A really cool feature is the Sound Lab where you can try out different instruments in sound proof booths and record your own music. I'll have to try that on my next visit, but my mission this time was to fight the crowds of kiddos to bask in the addictive cuteness of Hello Kitty.

Frank Gehry designed EMP Museum

How Cute is the Little Girl Posing with Creepy, Futuristic, Bodacious Hello Kitty?

I don't remember what about Hello Kitty that caught my fancy above all other themes when I was a kid. I didn't grow up with cats so my love for Hello Kitty products wasn't always associated with the species. My earliest memories of Hello Kitty were of my parents taking my brother and me to Shirokiya department store in Hawaii, where I would always find myself in the middle of the Sanrio store floor admiring the Hello Kitty themed pencils and erasers. We couldn't afford many non-essentials at the time so my dad's occasional splurge on a Sanrio gift for me was indeed something special.

The exhibit perhaps provided me with at least one good explanation of my lifelong penchant for all things Hello Kitty. The story is that Shintaro Tsuji, the father of Hello Kitty, founded Sanrio because he wanted to bring everyday joy to people through the idea of small gift giving. I think, in addition to the obvious adorableness of Hello Kitty, it was indeed the gifting aspect of acquiring Hello Kitty that made me especially happy as a kid. I knew it wasn't something I can get by asking or whining to my parents. My parents had to work hard and save to purchase the cute little presents for me as a display of their love and affection.

The Little Coin Purse that Started the Frenzy in 1975

If only I had the patience to make Hello Kitty themed lunches...

Hello Kitty Couture

View of the EMP Museum from the Children's Museum

After our visit to the museum, we walked around the park between the EMP and the Children's Museum, strolled outside of the Chihuly Garden (we have a future date night planned there), and admired the Space Needle from different vantage points. It was definitely a beautiful weekend!

Space Needle

Happy New Year!

It feels amazing ending the holidays with passing the PMP exam! I feel refreshed in my career hunt and empowered to not settle for just any job that comes along! Yay 2016!

Because the weeks leading up to Christmas had been rainy, we finally went to see Christmas lights this week. We checked out "Candy Cane Lane," which comprises of a street of houses in the Ravenna neighborhood just north of the University of Washington. The neighborhood has come together for this annual Christmas spectacle since 1949.

I was a little bit underwhelmed, probably because I kept comparing their decorations to a couple of over-the-top houses that we drove past somewhere in Bothell. Not willing to end our holiday season with the lights at Candy Cane Lane, I looked up one house in Bothell that went all out on lights. Apparently people here take Christmas lights very seriously.

The Keener's Christmas Lights Display is awesome. As we drove through a dark and quiet neighborhood, we grew increasingly doubtful that we were in the right place. Just as I was about to suggest turning back, we came upon this giant mass of lights:

Keener's Christmas Lights in Bothell

There are many great things about the Keener's display, such as the U-shaped driveway that perfectly facilitates traffic and allows for different views of the lawn. But more importantly, the drive behind this annual technical feat is very commendable. They accept donations for the Ben Towne Foundation for childhood cancer research and for Hopelink, and the Keener's match the donations to the Ben Towne Foundation!

We had a big smile at the end of the night and felt grateful for all the things that happened in 2015.

What to Do with a Whole Salmon for Two

I recently came upon an incredible sale - whole wild sockeye salmon for $3.99/lb! I just had to jump on this deal! It's impossible to get salmon at this price in Texas and Wisconsin! The piece I got was about 2.1 lbs.

Mike and I recently watched an episode of Cook's Country where they recommended brining salmon fillets in salt water to retain moisture and flavor in the fish. I figured that it may also work with a whole fish.

Brining the Salmon in Salt Water

 After an hour of brining, I patted the fish dry, cut slits on each side of the salmon and inserted sliced lemons. I smeared a thin layer of sour cream on the insides of the fish and stuffed the cavity with parsley, dill, and more lemon slices.

Dill, Parsley, and Lemon Stuffed Salmon

I popped the salmon in a 350F oven for 45 minutes. I think in a normal oven, it may take 1 hour, but the oven at our apartment tends to overheat, so I always have to cut down on the time.

Oven-Roasted Salmon

Since I was already using the oven for salmon, I figured I would use the same heat source for the veggies. I seasoned some broccolini with salt, pepper, and olive oil and set them on the lowest rack in the oven right after I finished cooking the salmon and turned off the heat.

This turned out to be a simple and delicious meal, but we still had a lot of leftover salmon.

Oven-Roasted Salmon and Broccolini with

Pike's Place Alder-Smoked Walla Walla Onion Tartar Sauce

I deboned the remainder of the fish and made panko-crusted fish cake sandwiches for another meal!
I mixed the leftover salmon with one raw egg, capers, mustard, sriracha, dill, and garlic powder, shaped the mixture into patties, and dipped them in egg then panko crumbs.

After I pan-fried the salmon cakes, I still had some egg mixture left in the bowl that had accumulated some loose flakes of salmon and capers. I didn't want to waste these delicious ingredients so I made one tiny egg crepe to put on our sandwiches!

I placed the salmon cake on a Blazing Bagel jalapeno cheese bagel with lettuce, Tillamook smoked black pepper cheese and topped it off with the Pike's Place tartar sauce, egg crepe, and sliced tomatoes.

The remainder of the salmon cakes went on top of cobb salads for another meal!

Salmon Cake Sandwich

Salmon Cake Cobb Salad